Friday, April 16, 2010

More Mayflowers

Mayflowers, also called trailing arbutus are so close to the ground and so early in the spring that many people never see or notice them. They can often be found along wooded paths where the leaves haven't come out on the trees yet and where the ground is sort of hilly, dry and maybe even a bit poor or rough. Here you can see a little patch of them along a path. If you weren't looking for them you might not see them.Here's a close up view. You can see they barely peek out of the leaves on the forest floor.These blossoms had a nice pink color. They can range in color from pure white to pinkish to these almost pink flowers.Mayflowers are in bloom all over Cape Cod right now so if you're out and around, go see if you can find some. The top two photos were from the Hathaway's Pond trails in Hyannis the bottom was from the Skunknett Audubon Sanctuary in Osterville.

2 comments:

I just noticed these sweet little flowers in our yard for the first time this week and was wondering what they are. Now I know! Thank you. But what's this? Mayflowers in April?! Is this just another sign of this year's early spring? Are they misnamed? Or perhaps they were named by someone in a more northerly climate.

Marilee--it is one of those funny little flower naming jokes--they always bloom in April--sometimes even March! Most people call them trailing arbutus these days, not mayflowers...and maybe that is why...may apples on the other hand, will be ready to bloom in May

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Thanks for stopping by to share my love of the beauty and nature of Cape Cod. I am an artist, writer, naturalist and educator. Everything interests me, everything is a possible subject for contemplation and learning. I write and illustrate several columns for local newspapers, teach classes, lead walks and do my own creative work as well.

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